TRANSLATING KALIDASA (CONTINUED 1)

2. on_that on_mountain much weak separated he longings_after
having led months gold bracelet loose bared forearm
of Ashadha won/completed a day a cloud clung to the summit
playfully_butting_ like_an_elephant_ against_a_bank rolling_down elephant pleasure_hurting he_saw

3. of_her having_stayed with_difficulty before desire impatience destitute_of_wealth cause
inward_tear for_a_ long_ time attendant of_king_ of_ kings holding
cloud in[not_of_the_world] is_being comfortable although [other_than conceals] grief
head_and_neck embrace longing_for in_person how_much again distant from_him

99 with_body body emaciated and with_emaciated deep with_distressed distressed
with_flowing tear weeping continually longing with_ longing
ardent sigh brimful with_sigh distant
with_proper we conjoin by_fate hostile blocked path

How has this improved matters? Well, firstly, we have found meanings for words missing from or hard to discern in Hultzsch, who has produced an immensely useful volume, but can't be expected to include a Sanskrit grammar. We recognize such words as tasminn, which is the third person singular locative of the pronoun saH (he) or tat (it), i.e. on_him or on_it, with the final n doubled for euphony (sandhi).

And we know a little more about  kazcit. It still means a_certain, but we don't now have to transcribe it blindly. It's simple an interrogative pronoun. A nineteenth century author, for example, might write: On a certain day towards the end of January, a man was . . . In a twentieth century, that would probably run: One day, towards the end of January, a man was. . . Today we might remove the phrase altogether: Towards the end of January, a man was. . . Or we might not, if that particular day was to be stressed: And on that day, had he been minded to glance down at the street, he would have noticed a young woman dressed. . . In fact, of the two serious translations of Meghaduta, McComas Taylor's has A certain Yaksha, whereas Leonard Nathan simply says This Yaksha. Does it matter? Not enormously in this instance, but it does bear on the latitude acceptable in translation, with which we shall end our treatment of Kalidasa.

But it does help to get back to the root meanings. Hultzsch translates prekSaNiyam perfectly correctly as worth seeing, beautiful, charming. The components of the word, pri and kSaNana, mean pleasure and hurting, however. The Yaksha acknowledges the felicity of the scene, but the image hurts because reminding him of his distant beloved. Equally, no one could quarrel with Hultzsch's translation of praNayin is longinging_for. But Kalidasa may also be thinking beyond literal meaning, as the common verbal prefix pra means onward, and praNa is spirit, life or vital breath. The whole poem is some sense a breath of life, the cloud that brings rain also brings the revitalizing desire of the Yaksha for his distant mate. We don't have to overdo the image of the playful elephant butting the ground in stanza 2, therefore: the sexual connotations are present, but not overwhelming so.

Most important of all, we now have the inflections and conjugations, which enables us to rearrange the words within each stanza:

1. a_certain Yaksha own_office negligent brought_to_an_end
greatness with_curse a year to be endured by_master
beloved separation in_shady_ trees caused_by_thick dwelling of hermitage
Ramagiri by_waters made holy Janaka daughter bathing

2. on_that on_mountain he much weak separated longings_after
having led months gold bracelet loose bared forearm
pleasure_hurting he_saw a day of Ashadha completed a cloud rolling_down
clung to the summit elephant playfully_butting_ like_an_elephant_ against_a_bank